


The Adventures of a Dedue

by Antimonicacid



Category: Fire Emblem: Fuukasetsugetsu | Fire Emblem: Three Houses
Genre: Canon Compliant, M/M, Post-War, Trans Ashe Duran | Ashe Ubert
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-15
Updated: 2021-01-15
Packaged: 2021-03-12 15:29:16
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,474
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28762599
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Antimonicacid/pseuds/Antimonicacid
Summary: Dedue tries to take a more non-traditional approach to his anniversary gift.
Relationships: Ashe Duran | Ashe Ubert/Dedue Molinaro
Comments: 4
Kudos: 36
Collections: Fire Emblem Trans Winter Exchange 2020





	The Adventures of a Dedue

**Author's Note:**

  * For [BorrowedBlueBox](https://archiveofourown.org/users/BorrowedBlueBox/gifts).



> This is for Mack for the FE trans winter exchange!!

The first time Dedue had the idea mentioned to him, he had shrugged, and decided that it would be a “good enough” gift. He knew that Ashe preferred gifts that were homemade. That even now in the relative comfort of a kingdom sponsored salary, expensive gifts still make him break out into heart palpitations and sweating palms. Dedue knew these things about his partner, but that didn’t mean he had any idea what to do with that information.

It had been a little more than two years since the war had ended, and with that came something that marked an approximation of an anniversary. It wasn’t their first, although neither was completely sure what was. The trajectory of their relationship had been a staggered endeavor. There was the time of the academy and then there was a time of war. Somewhere in between those time Dedue had died, Ashe had grown taller with a boost of T, Dedue had come back to life, and the spark of a relationship was revitalized.

Dedue wasn’t too sure of the timeline, if he was being honest.

“How do you not know when your own anniversary is?” Annette had complained while whisking a bowl of eggs together.

“My anniversary is today. I’m aware of that,” Dedue corrected her. “We picked this date long ago.”

Really, Ashe had picked it sometime last year. The mark of a relationship’s beginning should probably be clearer, but neither of them had thought to define it until they were well into actually dating. There was also the issue of a five-year gap and the aforementioned “everybody thought I was dead” situation, but specifics aside, it was a bit hazy.

They had settled for a date in summer. “Remember? That’s when we sat in the greenhouse and you explained all the properties of lemongrass for an hour,” Ashe had said with a dreamy expression. “That’s still the longest I think I’ve ever heard you speak.”

Dedue was almost positive that did not qualify as the start of a relationship. He assumed something like a first date would suffice. Maybe a first kiss, or even holding hands, but probably not long conversation about plants.

That said, Dedue was also a sucker who found the idea entirely too charming and had rushed to write the date down in his small, orderly planner.

“There was a lot going on,” Dedue said, which was true. “Do you think this soup is under seasoned?” he asked.

Annette rolled her eyes. “When do you _ever_ under season _anything_?”

She had a point, and with a slight pursing of his lips, Dedue reluctantly stepped aside from the stockpot, and looked for something else to grab his attention.

“Are you nervous?” Annette asked, actual confusion clouding her voice as she tried to puzzle out the anxious manner Dedue flitted between tasks.

“No,” Dedue said sternly. “Maybe a little,” he amended.

Annette shook her head as a small whine escaped her. “Why are you nervous? Your dinner is going to be great, everything already looks really tasty, and your gift is sooo–“

“Bad,” Dedue cut her off. “It is bad.”

The second time someone had mentioned the gift idea to Dedue is when Dedue realized that the whole concept was stupid, but he was in too deep to back down.

“It’s not a bad gift!” Annette yelled at him. “It’s cute, and heartfelt, and so romantic and–“

“I should have bought flowers,” Dedue stopped her again, the barest hint of panic on the edge of his tongue. “Annette, why didn’t I just buy flowers?”

With a sigh, Annette patted him on his arm. “Because you already grow flowers and you’re judgmental of Fódlan florists because you don’t like their variety.”

Once again, she wasn’t wrong.

“I could have gotten him a dog instead,” he tried again. “Or a new pot.”

“Oh, I’m sure you’ll figure it out,” Annette assured him one final time in the tone of voice he recognized as _this sounds like a you problem, hon._

He didn’t have time to argue. One look outside told him that it was rapidly approaching evening and that soon he would have to reckon with his own incompetency.

“Is there anything else you need help with?” Annette asked.

“No, I should be fine from here. Thank you,” Dedue told her. He had enlisted her help in the kitchen, a rare move on his part, considering the fact that he often preferred to do most of the cooking either by himself or with Ashe. Today was a special occasion, however, and with all the dishes he needed to prepare, Annette’s help with doing prep work was extremely welcomed.

“Stop worrying!” Annette told him on her way out. “He’s going to love your gift because it’s sweet and kind and sooooo romantic,” she told him in a sing-song tone.

“I could have knitted him a scarf,” Dedue said. “A scarf is practical.”

“Well, it’s too late for that!” Annette said and waved goodbye.

After Annette’s departure, there was only a handful of things left for Dedue to organize before Ashe’s return home. The table was quickly set, not a napkin out of place, leaving Dedue with nothing to focus on until his boyfriend’s arrival.

He didn’t have too long to wait until he heard the creaking opening of the front door. Dedue stood straight and awkward as he waited for Ashe to round the corner, and as he did, all the tension stored stiffly in his shoulders relaxed as he watched the expression on Ashe’s face light up.

“Happy anniversary,” he greeted him.

“Oh, Dedue,” Ashe said with a voice full of emotion. “You didn’t have to do all this.”

“It’s not anything special,” Dedue said simply as he leaned down to allow his partner press a kiss to his cheek.

“Well, I think it’s special. It’s a fantastic anniversary gift,” Ashe squeezed Dedue’s arm for emphasis.

Dedue considered leaving it at that, a nice dinner and a night in, but he knew he had to follow through. “That’s… not the only gift,” Dedue admitted through gritted teeth.

Ashe blinked. “There’s more?”

He gave a curt nod, before leaving the room and quickly returning with a small package in hand.

“Please lower your expectations,” Dedue warned.

Ashe laughed as he tore off the wrapping paper to reveal the gift underneath. His eyebrows dipped in confusion for a moment, before recognition clicked into place.

“A book?” he asked.

Grimacing, Dedue confirmed. “Yes. I made it. I suppose. It’s a short story. That I wrote.”

Excitement flashed across Ashe’s face as he flipped open the leather-bound cover to reveal the cover page. The title _Adventures of a Knight_ was proudly spelled out in looping handwriting that was not Dedue’s own, and below it a much more subdued and recognizable signature of tight letters in the author’s script.

“You wrote this?” Ashe asked, not fully comprehending as he traced a finger across the eggshell-colored paper.

“Yes. Bernadetta edited it for me. Or beta’d. I don’t know,” he confessed his own ignorance of the process.

“Is there art in here?” Ashe flipped through the pages and pointed out the small illustrations.

“She also did that,” Dedue flushed at the memory. “The concept art I provided was not very proficient.”

Sharp glee glinted in Ashe’s eyes, and Dedue knew that he would go through the ends of the earth to find those illustrations.

Dedue made a note to himself to burn them.

“It’s about a knight,” Dedue tried to switch the topic. “He’s on a journey. For the Kingdom. I didn’t name the Kingdom. Sorry.”

“Hush,” Ashe shooed away his self-deprecation. “Kingdom’s don’t need names. What does the knight do?”

“He’s trying to collect destined relics to save the Kingdom from a curse. It’s not a very long story.”

Ashe nodded, delight clear as he began skimming the pages. “Hey!” he exclaimed in excitement while pointing to one of the pieces of art on the page. “He’s wearing a binder!”

“Yes,” Dedue affirmed. “I thought it would be fun.” Fun was a mild way of putting it. Ashe had confessed years ago how much he loved reading stories and fairytales and adventures, but how it was often disappointing that there were no characters with gender experiences similar to his own.

“Dedue, this is great,” Ashe told him as he clutched the handmade book to his chest.

“It is not a good story,” Dedue reiterated. “I’m not a writer.”

Ashe shook his head. “I beg to differ,” he told him. “I really do love it. Thank you.”

Dedue let out a clenched breath, relief beginning to settle in as Ashe seemed to earnestly examine the gift with a smile.

“Now I feel like my gift is lacking,” Ashe said with a sigh. “I got you a scarf. I thought it’d be practical.”


End file.
